Tangled
by Nellsie
Summary: Leona Kirkland isn't a saint by any means, but she didn't do anything to deserve this! Now she's being forced to guide some girl with freakishly long hair and an overprotective mother. All because she stole the lost princess's crown? Okay... maybe she isn't that innocent, but this journey better not be completely unbearable! [Hetalia-Tangled Crossover: Fem!HongIce]
1. Prologue

_This is the story of how I died…_

_Oh no, don't worry, this is actually a really fun story, and it's, like, not even mine._

_It all started a couple hundred years ago, with a magic golden flower. Now I know what you're thinking, and yes, there is an actual reason why this magic golden flower existed._

_One day, a drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, onto the ground. And from the ground, sprouted this magic golden flower. The flower had endless possibilities, including the ability to heal any wound someone had, or keep them young forever._

_ The first to find this flower, was a woman. Now, I want you to remember this woman. She'll be, like, pretty important later in the story._

_Anyways, a hop, skip, and a boat trip away a kingdom sprang up over the next couple hundred years. This kingdom, the kingdom of Carotalia was led by a king and a queen. This king and queen were loved immensely by their subjects, and they were all excited with the news that the queen was with child._

_But late into her pregnancy, the queen, queen Luca got sick, like, really sick. And nobody was sure if she was going to live._

_Unable to accept this, and unwilling to let his wife die without fighting against it first, King Matthias sent out the guards to find the magic golden flower that had been rumored of. They would search without end for a long time, until eventually, they did find it._

_ The woman, Anya (See, I, like, told you she'd be important) had been hoarding the abilities of this flower to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she had to do, was sing a special song._

"_Flower, gleam and glow  
Let your power, shine._

_Make the clock reverse,  
Bring back what once was mine_

_Heal what has been hurt  
Change the fates design_

_Save what has been lost  
Bring back what once was mine_

_What once was mine."_

_ Yeah, you get the gist, she sings to it, and turns younger. Creepy, I know. Anyway, once she had been finished with her flower on this particular day, the guards had been searching in the area. Anya, panicked, quickly tried to hide her flower, but as she ran away, she knocked over the pseudo-bush she'd placed. It was too late for her to correct her mistake, as the first guard who saw the flower eagerly announced that he'd found it. Soon enough they'd dug up the flower by its roots, and they hurried to bring it back to the queen._

_ When they arrived to the kingdom, they placed the flower in a bowl of warm soup, and tried to feed it to the queen._

_The king knelt beside her bed, squeezing her hand tightly and praying that the flower would work. And it did! The queen was healed, and a few months later, a healthy baby girl was born, with beautiful platinum blonde hair._

_The princess was given the name Emilia, and the kingdom rejoiced at her birth. To celebrate her being born, Luca and Matthias set a lantern afloat into the sky._

_ But that woman, Anya, was not pleased with this news, and she broke into the castle._

_Hopeful, she sang her song, and Emilia's hair began glowing with the same magic that the flower had. Anya smiled excitedly, pulling out a pair of scissors and snipping away a lock of the princess's hair. To her dismay though, the hair turned silver, losing its magic._

_ So Anya, being enraged with this outcome, stole the baby away. Emilia began crying, waking up the king and queen, but unfortunately, Anya had already escaped, taking the princess with her._

_She took her to a hidden tower, never to be seen again._

_ The kingdom searched all over the kingdom for the princess, but they found nothing. So, on the princess's birthday each year, they released thousands of lanterns into the sky, in hope that one day, they'd find their lost princess._

"_Mommy, why can't I go outside?" A now six-year-old Emilia asked her "mother" Anya._

_ Anya had found her new golden flower, but this time, she was determined to keep it hidden._

"_The world is a terrible place my dear, filled with people who only want to hurt you." Anya replied as she tenderly brushed Emilia's hair, which had grown quite long over the years without being cut. "Promise me you'll never try to go outside." She whispered._

_ "...Okay mommy…" Emilia responded._

"_Good." Anya smiled as she finished brushing "Now time for bed, Flower." She said "Mommy loves you very much."_

"_I love you more."_

"_I love you most." Anya said as she stood up, ushering Emilia to her bedroom before retreating to her own room._

_ Though, no matter how many lies Anya fed to Emilia, she couldn't keep the rising curiosity from the child. As each birthday, Emilia would sneak to the window, watching as the lanterns rose, wondering what it was like out there._

* * *

**_-_AN-**

**Ohayo! So first thing to address, this will be a Fem!HongIce story... Tangled crossover... thing. And I've already finished writing the next chapter (Scheduling to upload that chapter later today or tomorrow) and I've almost finished the chapter after that.**

**Okay, now onto the big warning. I will warn on of you that I am planning to keep in _everyfuckingsong_. (Except maybe I've Got a Dream) No matter how much it pains me to write each song in (It's a lot of effort in an _attempt_ to make the song parts not completely unreadable) But hey, there will be some jokes about it.**

**And about the Fem!HongIce...**

**Okay, so have I ever told you I'm a Hong Kong fangirl? Well I am. I. Fucking. _Love_. Hong Kong, and that is why his Fem!Counterpart shall be playing the ever so amazing role of Flynn Rider. And as you can imagine, Fem!Iceland (Emilia) will be acting as our Rapunzel. And if you don't like HongIce well... I'll do my best to make this readable for you.**

**And you'll see later on in the story that I've taken certain liberties with the Tangled plot in itself (Even though I fucking love Tangled... I'm back in my Disney phase, I know) And be prepared for my Disney phase to take over my fanfictioning! Because guess what? Little Mermaid crossover incoming soon!**

**I hope you enjoyed this little Prologue and this AN. Now I shall leave you alone...**

***Hobbles off to writing cave***


	2. This is a Very Big Day

**-AN-**

**So we go onto the second chapter~ Yay! Before we go on, special thanks to Aphnordicsneedlove, SilverDawn1313, Nightshine315, Shadow Elvin Angel, Wateringbottle, grimyard, loveforallpeaceforeveryone, Baylee1100, and kori no ryuu! Thank you all for following/reviewing/favoriting! :)**

* * *

"Hmm… I guess Mr. Puffin isn't out here…" Emilia smirked, taking a step back inside her home. She heard an almost silent sighing sound come from her pet bird as she stepped in, and she took this as her opportunity to pounce.

"Gotcha!" She shouted, giggling as she expertly lassoed the bird's feet in a lock of her_ very _long hair, pulling him over to her. The little puffin had been hiding behind one of the potted plants on the balcony.

"So that's twenty-three for me, and zero for you." She chuckled as her puffin rolled its eyes. Hey, she'd lived in this tower for almost eighteen years of her life, if you didn't think she was an expert at hide and seek, you are sorely mistaken. "How about… twenty four out of fifty two?" She asked, desperate for something else to do.

Mr. Puffin gave an expression that resembled and eyebrow raise and an eye roll.

"Okay, fine, what do you want to do?" Emilia asked, rolling her eyes in return. The puffin flew over to the railing, gesturing with a wing at the outside. "Ahh, no. I like it here, and so do you." She chuckled, walking back inside, Mr. Puffin flying behind her grudgingly.

Emilia looked around the tower, ah, so much to do. It was seven in the morning, so she had some adequate time to do things.

"_Seven AM the usual morning lineup~"_ She hummed under her breath, as she grabbed the broom from the corner of the room, beginning to sweep up the room _"Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean."_

"_Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop, and shine up."_ She carried on with her chores for the day, wiping the sweat off her forehead before grabbing the broom again, sweeping for the second time _"Sweep again, and by then, it's like seven-fifteen"_ Having done these chores all her life, she could finish them in pretty impressive time.

_"And so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three." _She hummed as she grabbed a book on science from a shelf, walking into her room and sprawling onto the covers. She finished the book, along with its two counterparts (a book on the makings of licorice and a book on puffin care) in about an hour.

"_I'll add some brand new paintings to my gallery"_ She hummed as she painted a picture of a dark blue sky, with those floating lights she'd see every day on her birthday _"I'll play guitar and knit, and cook and basically, just wonder when will my life, begin?"_ She sighed as she got bored with her various hobbies.

_"Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking"_ She narrowed her eyes as she expertly threw a dart at the dartboard, which had grown to pretty much have a hole in the bullseye area. _"Paper mache, a bit of ballet, and chess~"_

She pushed her white chess piece to knock over Mr. Puffin's black chess pieces. _"Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making."_ She sang as she pulled out three small wax candles that she'd created, and lined them up on the stairs.

"_Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress" _She smiled as Mr. Puffin glared at her, having been dressed in a small doll dress she sewed.

"_And I'll reread the books, if I have time to spare,  
I'll paint the walls some more,  
I'm sure there's room somewhere  
And then I'll brush and brush, and brush and brush my hair!"_

She sighed as she finally finished brushing through her white-blonde hair, sitting down on one of the high support beams of the tower roof. _"Stuck in the same place I've always been~"_ She sighed quietly _"And I'll keep wondering, and wondering, and wondering, and wondering~ when will my life, begin?"_ She sang as she took herself down from the support beam, walking onto the balcony and staring out to the outside.

"_And tomorrow night  
Lights will appear  
Just like they do, on my birthday, each year."_ She sang quietly _"What is it like? Out there where they glow?"_ She questioned to herself.

"_Now that, I'm older, mother might just, let me go~"_

* * *

"Boys, I think I, like, want a castle." The girl smiled as she looked out on the kingdom. She was standing on the roof of the castle, overlooking the kingdom. "I _really_ want a castle." She chuckled.

"Kirkland, if we do this job, you can buy your own castle." Said Gilbert Beilschmidt, who was rolling his eyes as he grabbed the brunette by the collar of her shirt "And one for the awesome me and mein less awesome brother." He said as said brother, Ludwig, tied a rope around her waist.

"Well, like, a bigger castle for me, since I'm kinda doing the heavy lifting here." She replied, getting ready to go down the open ceiling panel of the castle. "And ladies first. That, like, includes getting first at the rations."

Ludwig rolled his eyes as he let her down, making sure he held onto the rope tightly so she didn't fall to her death or anything… not that he would mind if the third counterpart to their thieving trio actually did fall to her death.

The girl grinned as she was scaled down, eagerly grabbing the crown when she was close enough to reach it. She heard a guard sneeze as she placed the crown into the satchel she'd been carrying just for this job.

"Like, bless you." She said, leaning back a bit on the crown pedestal "Hay fever?"

"Ve~ Yeah, allergy season is rough." The redheaded guard replied as he turned his head to see her. She saluted him as he turned away, before realizing what he just saw. "Wait!" He turned around again, but she was already out of the castle.

"Well boys, I'll try to remember you when I'm rich!" She laughed as she and the brothers ran off. They rolled their eyes in response, running ahead of her. She sighed, running further "It is a very big day my dear gentlemen! A very big day!"

* * *

"This is it." Emilia breathed as she put away her paint. "This is a very big day Mr. Puffin." She allowed herself a small, hopeful smile. "This is the day I'm going to ask her. This is the day I'm going to ask mother to let me go outside!" She said excitedly, and the puffin, if it could smile, it would be smiling at her.

"_Emilia! Let down your hair~"_ She heard her mother's voice from outside, and she clenched her fists slightly with determination. She straightened her back, chin up… though not too much, that would look stupid.

"Okay… this is it." She breathed, and Mr. Puffin looked at her encouragingly. "Alright, don't let her see you." She ushered the puffin to fly up to the ceiling before standing up, hurrying over to the balcony.

"Emilia, hurry up, I'm not getting any younger down here~" Her mother yelled, impatiently running a hand through her almost white hair.

"Coming mother!" Emilia yelled, taking a deep breath before looping her hair up to the hook above the balcony. The tresses fell down to the ground, allowing Anya to hold on. Emilia pulled her up, it was a little difficult, considering she wasn't that strong, but she got the job done.

Once she reached the top, Anya stepped inside the tower room, as Emilia panted a bit in exhaustion.

"Oh Emilia! How you manage to do that everyday, without fail is astonishing!" Anya praised, hugging Emilia softly and brushing some hair out of her face "It must be very difficult!"

"Oh it's nothing…" Emilia said quietly, blushing slightly at the praise.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long!" Anya said sweetly, tapping her on the nose. At seeing her daughters expression fall a bit, she laughed "Darling I'm just teasing."

"Well, mother-" Emilia began, before being cut off as Anya ushered her to the mirror.

"-Look." Anya said fondly, holding Emilia close "You know what I see? I see a confident, artistic, _beautiful_ young lady." She smiled, and Emilia gave a small smile "Oh look, and you're there too!" She cackled slightly. "I'm just teasing, stop taking everything _so_ seriously!" Anya chuckled as she examined her features in the mirror.

"Well, mother, as you know-"

"You know Emilia, mommy's feeling a bit run down right now. Would you sing for me?" Anya sighed tiredly.

"Oh, of course mother!" Emilia said, setting up the chair and ushering her mother into it quickly, handing her a brush and then sitting on the stool in front of the chair, before singing.

"_Flowergleamandglowletyourpowershinemaketheclockreversereturnwhatoncewasmine."_ She sang incredibly quickly, and Anya tried to brush during her song, failing to get any magic youth out of it.

"Emilia!-"

"-So mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow was going to be a pretty big day and you didn't really respond." Emilia leaned up to her mother's chair "So I'll just tell you, tomorrow is my birthday!" She grinned.

"Ah, ah, ah, I distinctly remember, your birthday was last year. _Da?_" Anya said sweetly, tilting her head. Just what had gotten into Emilia today?

"Well yes…" Emilia said "But that's the thing about birthdays, they're kind of an annual thing." Emilia reasoned. "And do you know which birthday it is?" She asked, a bit anxiously.

"Hmm… your fifteenth?" Emilia guessed that Anya was joking, but when it came to her mother, she never really knew.

"My eighteenth." She said quietly, and Anya smiled.

"_Nyet!?_" Anya said, gasping in that way that mothers do when they're in fake disbelief "You look so young for eighteen!" She giggled, pinching Emilia's cheek. Emilia gave a begrudging noise, she didn't exactly appreciate being treated like a child. "You really do look like you're only fifteen, maybe even fourteen!"

Emilia bit her lip. She didn't look that young! Okay so maybe she was a bit short for her age… but she couldn't control that! And maybe her platinum blonde hair draped around her face in a way that made her look younger, and maybe her violet eyes had a kind of youthful look to them, but neither of those things she had control over! She wasn't allowed to cut her hair, and her eyes were just genetics.

She took a seat back in her stool though, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Well mother, I _am_ turning _eighteen_." She put emphasis on 'am' and 'eighteen' to remind her mother that she wasn't a child anymore. Eighteen was old enough for her not to be treated like a child! "And what I want for my birthday… actually what I've wanted for a few birthdays now-"

"Emilia please stop the mumbling, you know how I feel about the mumbling. All blah, blah, blah. It's very annoying." Anya gave her a hard look before pinching her cheeks and standing up "_Nyet_. I'm just kidding, I love you so much, you're adorable~" She smiled as she began walking off. Emilia took a deep breath.

"I want to see the floating lights!" She shouted, bringing her hand to her mouth after she said it.

Anya turned to her, raising an eyebrow "What?" She said, her tone wavering.

Emilia breathed, blushing a little. That shout sounded extremely childlike and whiny. She cleared her throat. "Well, I was actually hoping _you'd_ take me to see the floating lights." She said, pulling back a curtain to show her painting of the sky filled with said lights.

"Oh." Anya said, raising an eyebrow, before calming her expression "You mean the stars." She said, hoping that would convince her daughter to drop it. Tough luck.

"That's the thing…" Emilia began, lassoing her hair to the door handle of a hatch, shining the light on one of her various star charts "I've charted stars, and they're always constant. But these lights, they only rise on my birthday." She made sure to put emphasis on 'only'. She bit her lip, what she was about to say next would sound really childish "And I can't help but feel… feel like they were meant for me."

Anya huffed, trying to think of something to say. Something to get this idea out of Emilia's head.

"Mother I… I need to see them. And not from my window… I need to know what they _are_." Emilia tried to convince her mother of the _importance_ of this.

"You want to go outside?" Anya said, walking off and slamming the doors to the balcony closed, cutting off the light that came into the tower "Why Emilia…"

"_Look at you as fragile as a flower~" _Anya walked over to Emilia and clasped their hands together. "_Still a little sapling, just a sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower."_

"-Yes mother, I know but-"

"_-That's right, to keep you safe and sound dear…"_ She let go of her hands, walking in circles around her _"Guess I always knew this day was coming, knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest. Soon but not yet~"_ She began to climb up the first few steps in the tower.

"But-" Emilia tried to interject, before being cut off.

"_Shh, trust me pet. Mother knows best~" _Anya sang, shutting off the lights, shrouding the tower in darkness _"Mother knows best, listen to your mother~"_

Emilia lit a candle, trying to see through the darkness, before walking into her mother _"It's a scary world out there!"_ Amelia stepped back, with a slight shriek, blushing at her reaction, before she felt her hair being pulled.

"_Mother knows best, one way or another, something will go wrong, I swear!" _Her hair was let go of, and she was sent falling back. Her mother caught her, only to let her drop to the floor again.

"_Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand."_ Her mother began listing things that sounded godawful in Emilia's mind _"Cannibals and snakes, the plague."_

"-No!" Emilia interrupted.

"Yes! _Also large bugs, men with pointy teeth." _Anya knocked her down with the mop, there was a red drawing of a fanged man on the floor, which frightened Emilia "_And stop no more you'll just upset me~"_ Anya whined melodramatically, holding out a red dipped paintbrush.

"_Mother's right here, mother will protect you~"_ Emilia was hiding a small fort made from her hair wrapped around her _"Darling here's what I suggest!"_ Anya appeared beside her, and Emilia made a run to hug her, before she realized her mother was gone, replaced with a manikin torso.

"_Skip the drama, stay with mama! Mother, knows best~"_ Anya sang, twirling her cape so that the candles on the steps went out.

"_Mother knows best, take it from your mumsy, on your own you won't survive~"_ Anya sang as she put out the candles one by one as Emilia relit them.

Suddenly Emilia was in front of a mirror, her mother standing behind it. _"Sloppy, underdressed, immature, clumsy, please, they'll eat you up alive!"_ She moved the mirror to reflect Emilia's barefeet, while simultaneously tripping her up with her hair and raveling her in it.

"_Gullible, naive,  
Positively grubby,"_

She unraveled Emilia in a twirling mess, getting her daughter dizzy.

_Ditsy and a bit well, hmm… vague!  
Plus I believe, you're getting kinda chubby, I'm just saying because I love you!"_

Emilia drew back, was she fat? She certainly didn't feel fat… ugh! This was such an infantile thing to worry about. She wasn't fat!

"_Mother understands, mother's here to help you! All I have is one request!"_ The light shone on Anya, and Emilia rushed to her, hugging her tightly. She didn't even worry about how childish she looked.

"Emilia?" Anya whispered, catching the girl's attention. Emilia looked up at her.

"Yes mother?" Emilia looked into her mothers darker violet eyes, violet catching violet.

"Don't ever ask to leave this tower. Again. Da?" Anya said, her hands on Emilia's shoulders and a stern look on her face.

Emilia bit her lip. "Yes, mother." She sighed, looking down and feeling defeated, pathetic, and above all like a child. A pathetic, whiny, afraid, child.

Anya sighed happily "I love you very much dear." She said, kissing the top of Emilia's head.

She hesitated "I love you more." Emilia repeated the old mantra they'd had. Hey, she already felt like a pathetic child, what was this going to do? Make her feel more pathetic?

"I love you most." Anya smiled, kissing her forehead again before tapping her nose "_Don't forget it, you'll regret it~"_ She patted her daughters head _"Mother~ knows best!"_

"Ta-ta! I'll see you in a bit my dear!" Anya said fondly as she was hoisted down on Emilia's hair later.

"I'll be here…" Emilia sighed sadly, leaning on the balconies edge, watching as her mother walked off.

* * *

Plastered onto a tree was a "Wanted" poster with the name "Leona Kirkland" on the bottom of it, with a drawing of her standing in a cocky pose. With her raising an eyebrow slightly and smirking, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, but there was something wrong with this picture…

The girl stopped in her tracks, taking the poster off the tree and looking at it, before muttering "This is bad. This is, like, really, really bad!"

"They just can't, like, get my bangs right!" She groaned, seeing as the drawing depicted her with bangs hanging over her forehead, instead of draping around her face as they did in reality.

"What does it matter? Come on, we have to hurry!" Gilbert said impatiently.

"Easy for you to say! You guys look, like, perfect in your posters!" She sighed, holding out the poster that was just below her's, which did in fact, depict the Beilschmidt brothers pretty well. Not that they were all that hard to forget.

Unlike Leona, who was a bit scruffy and tomboyish, the brothers were tall and terrifying. The younger one, Ludwig was all muscle and height, with outstanding strength and wit, and some blonde hair and nice blue eyes, while Gilbert was the same, although a bit shorter than his younger brother and with white hair and red eyes. Yeah, it kinda scared Leona if she were to be honest, her teammates could probably kill her if they wanted to. Not that she would've done anything to elicit a killing. Maybe a broken nose or a robbery would be adequate for all the trouble she'd caused them, but not killing. She was too pretty to die.

"Oh shit, they're coming." She said, surprised as she noticed the guards advancing on them from a distance "Run!" She said, stuffing the poster of herself in the satchel before beginning to sprint off, the brothers following close behind her. They went pretty far before hitting a dead end.

Leona groaned "Okay, I, like, need you guys to hoist me up. Then I'll pull you." She said, rationalizing her plan in her head.

Ludwig exchanged a glance with his brother "First, the satchel." he said.

"Oh, do you guys not trust me?" She gave her pouty face, before groaning, and tossing her satchel to Gilbert "Like, fine then." She groaned, as Gilbert stacked himself onto Ludwig's shoulders. Leona climbed up the two of them, Gilbert hoisting her up by the waist once she got up to him.

"Like, watch your hands!" She huffed, feeling his hands slide a little lower than her waist. She sighed internally, if she knew being a thief and working with two dudes would entail being manhandled _constantly _she might have been warded off from thieving… emphasis on _might_.

"Hey, you've been annoying the two of us all day, the least you can let the awesome me do is cop a feel." Gilbert snickered, and she rolled her eyes "Take it as an awesome compliment from me."

"Like, whatever." She grumbled as she got over the dead end. Before looking down and smirking at the two brothers.

"Now you have to lift us up!" Ludwig yelled.

"Ah, nah, you guys are kinda too heavy for me to lift up. And besides, my hands are full." Leona smirked, holding up the satchel, which she'd snagged off of Ludwig during her climb "But you know, wish me luck!" She grinned, giving a little salute before running off, draping the satchel handle on her shoulder so the bag part rested on the side of her hips.

"You bitch!" She heard Gilbert yell at her "We'll get you for that Kirkland!"

Hah! She'd actually gotten away with it… up until she saw the guards advancing hurriedly as she ran. "Well fuck…" She mumbled, she was getting tired of all this running. And they were shooting arrows! What did _she_ of all people, do to deserve this!?

…

Okay, besides stealing the crown. She did nothing wrong!

Once guard eventually got close enough to her to grab her jacket, panicked, she stopped in her tracks, kicking him off his horse and jumping onto it. The horse kept running for a bit, before realizing who its new rider was and stopping in its tracks.

"Hey!" She said, trying to use the handler-thingies to make it move again "Come on! Like, go!" She groaned, as the horse tried to knock her off, chomping at the satchel, she sighed, why did everything have to be so difficult today?

Hopping off the horse, she began running, the horse hot on her trail. Eventually though, as she tried to lean against a wall of overgrowing ivy, she noticed that the ivy wasn't against anything, but was more so acting like a curtain to a cave she could hide in. Sweet! Maybe not everything going to go so unlucky today.

She went down into the cave, which actually turned out to be a tunnel. With a plain on the other end, a high tower in the middle of it. Double sweet! A hiding place, which was good, because she could have sworn she'd seen the horse's shadow behind that ivy.

Running up to the tower, she noticed there wasn't a door. She sighed, pulling out two arrows from her belt before scaling the tower, panting in exhaustion once she'd finally got up onto the balcony and into the tower. She'd been running _so much_ today!

But, looking around, this tower would make a pretty decent hiding place. "Sweet…" She muttered as she looked around the room.

_PANG!_

* * *

**-AN-**

**Heyo! Two chapters, one day! Unfortunately, the next chapter may not be posted as fast, but anyway-**

**So as you can see I'm still kind of getting into the groove of Emilia's character, so far I'm kind of going with a hot-and-cold-hates-being-treated-like-a-kid kind of personality. I'm probably going to delve more into her character, and define her a bit better as the story goes on. Bear with me guys!**

**But anyway, next chapter we shall see our lovely Fems! speaking to eachother for the first time, and beginning their journey!**

**Also, review if you enjoyed, and give me some title suggestions! I'm thinking of changing the title ^_^**

**Bye-nii**

***Hobbles off to cave of anti-socialism and writing***


	3. Let's Make a Deal

**-AN-**

**ONTO THE MEETING OF OUR DEAREST FEMS... but first, special recognition to- mentogum, DvergurPeysu, and amichalap! Thanks for following/favoriting/reviewing peoples!**

* * *

Emilia shrieked, holding her frying pan up to her chest as the stranger fell onto the floor with a pang. She was lucky that that was the only _physical_ reaction that came to her, considering she was having an internal panic. Mr. Puffin flew down to stand on her shoulder, as they both looked down at the girl, who'd fallen gracefully on her face. Using the tip of the frying pan handle, she turned the girl's head to the side.

A lock of short hair fell in the girl's face as well. It was brown hair, that hung down to the middle of her neck. She had very short hair for a woman, but it would be considered long hair if she were a boy.

Emilia observed the rest of her. She was wearing a pair of trousers and boots, instead of flats and a skirt, like Emilia's mother told her girls were supposed to wear. Maybe this girl was a boy? She had short hair, and a boyish outfit, but a quick look at the girls curvature corrected that thought.

Mr. Puffin flew down to the spot on the floor where Anya had drawn the picture of a fanged man, and used a wing to gesture at the girl. Emilia nodded, using the handle to open her mouth slightly. She didn't seem to have any fangs, although she did have a slight gap between two of her molars.

"Oh…" She whispered quietly, feeling stupid for even believing in 'men with pointy teeth', but this was a girl… maybe that didn't apply to her?

Swiftly, she used the handle again to move the lock of hair out of the girls face. Emilia's eyes widened as she looked at her, the girl was probably the most beautiful person she'd ever seen… which wasn't saying much, considering the only other person she'd seen was her mother, who was very beautiful, l, all things considered though, it wasn't a very far spectrum of people that Emilia had seen.

... She still thought this girl was pretty though.

Suddenly, the girls brown eyes popped open "Whaa-"

_PANG!_

Emilia panted slightly, adrenaline pumping through her. Okay, so she needed to get this girl off the floor, probably… but where to hide her?

The wardrobe! Perfect!

Using the incredible strength she possessed (which basically means she had an _extremely_ difficult time carrying this girl, even though she seemed a bit on the skinny side) she managed to get the girl into the wardrobe after maybe… five attempts? Emilia wasn't counting. Although she did hope that the girl only sustained minimum injuries during her attempts.

"Okay… I've got a person in my closet…" She said, suddenly, the gravity of this situation hit her. "I've got a person in my closet…" She repeated quietly.

"I have got a _person_ in my _closet_!" She grinned a bit, pride filling up in her. And her mother though she was too weak to defend herself out there! She spun her frying pan on her hand, chuckling a bit. Well she had news for her- OW!

…

Okay so maybe she might have hit herself with that frying pan, but hey, that wasn't important! The important thing was this (incredibly attractive) girl was living, breathing proof that Emilia was strong enough to protect herself out there! If mother saw this she'd have to let her go outside, right?

She nodded to herself, it was worth a shot.

She raised her eyebrow though, when she saw something shiny peaking out of the girls bag, which had fallen onto the floor. She contemplated it for a bit, before opening the bag, pulling out what looked like a very large bracelet in her eyes.

After a moment, she tried using it as a bracelet, which didn't work that well, and then she tried peering through the gemstone accessory that was in the center of quite a few gems in the… thing, before actually placing it on her head, her eyes widening in surprise at how the thing looked on her.

"Emilia!" Her mother's voice echoed into her thoughts. "I've got a surprise!"

"Coming mother!" She said immediately, feeling excitement and nervousness swelling inside her as she stuffed the thing into the girls bag again and hid it in a large vase, hurried to the balcony, letting her hair down.

"Uhh… I do too!" She shouted back as her mother was brought up halfway.

"I bet mine is bigger!" Her mother grinned.

"I seriously doubt it…" Emilia mumbled, bringing her mother up and letting her walk inside. Her mother gave her a hug, which Emilia quickly pulled out of, she liked her personal space. (When it benefited her of course, she often let the personal space rule go... shhh)

"I got that black licorice you like so much! Surprise!" Anya smiled, pulling a small blue bag, which Emilia assumed was filled with licorice, and handing it to her.

"Thank you mother." Emilia smiled slightly, taking the bag, she did love licorice. "But now, onto my surprise!" She grinned a bit, before biting her lip. She noticed that her lip bled a bit this time, she'd need to curb the habit of biting her lip "So I was thinking about what you said earlier-"

"Emilia I really hope you're not still talking about the stars are you?-" Anya took a seat in a nearby chair.

"No, but… but yes, look, you'll see I'm pretty capable once I show you-"

"-Emilia, I really thought we dropped this issue." Her mother gave a warning tone.

"But mother, I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there, but-"

"_Nyet,_ I _know_ you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there, darling." Anya interjected, a dark look taking over her.

"But if you just listen to me-" Emilia said, reaching over to the wardrobe handle.

"Emilia, we're finished talking about this-"

"Trust me,"

"Emilia-" Anya tried to interject.

"- I know you don't think-"

"Enough with the lights Emilia!" Anya shouted, clenching her fists "You are never leaving this to tower! Ever!"

Emilia's eyes widened, and she let go of the wardrobe handle. She had never seen her mother like this.

"Ugh, great…" Anya sighed, taking a seat in a nearby chair "Now I'm the bad guy…"

Emilia sighed, thinking over what she was going to say next. She glanced at her painting of the lights in the sky, she didn't want to give up her dream, not ever.

"All I was going to say mother, is that… I know what I'd like for my birthday now." She said quietly. She had a slight blush, after having been yelled at like she was... like she was a child.

"_Da_? And what would that be?" Anya sighed.

"New paint." Emilia said "That paint made from the white shells that you once got for me."

"Well that is a very long trip Emilia, almost three days time." Anya explained, rubbing her temples slightly.

"I know I just… I thought it would be better than… you know, the stars." It almost hurt to call her dream 'the stars'.

Anya sighed, a bit relieved now that Emilia dropped it. She stood up, walking to her daughter "Are you sure you'll be alright?" She asked, and Emilia nodded. Anya hugged her closely, kissing the top of her head, before Emilia pulled away.

"I know I'll be okay, as long as I'm up here."

Later, once Emilia had got all her things ready, Anya climbed down her hair, reminding her that she'd be back in three days time.

* * *

Leona's eyes shot open. Why was her ear wet!? And what was she tangled in? And why was a penguin… bird… thing on her shoulder?!

She looked down at the white-gold restraints. It was strong, but it felt like silk to the touch. "Is this… hair?" She muttered quietly.

"Struggling… struggling is pointless!" A feminine voice yelled from one of the support beams by the roof of the tower. Leona raised an eyebrow, muttering a soft "What?"

The girl, who'd been hiding in the shadows, hopped down onto the floor "I know why you're here! A-and, I'm not afraid of you!"

"You wouldn't be the first." Leona mumbled "I'm not exactly, like, the most fear inducing thing in the world." She then realized something "What?" She asked, confused. What did this girl mean by 'I'm not afraid of you?'

The girl walked into the light, and it seemed that the white-gold hair restraints did belong to her, hey, she was kinda hot!

"Who are you, and… and how did you find me?" The girl said quietly, brandishing a frying pan. Wow, that's a sentence that I, as a narrator never thought I'd say.

"Uh huh…"

"_Who _are you, and_ how _did you find me?!" She asked again, a bit louder this time, as she walked closer.

Leona cleared her throat "I know not who you are, nor how I, like, came to find you, but may I just say.." She smirked a bit at the girl "Like, hi~" She said flirtatiously.

The girl gave a confused look, although she did blush slightly.

"How are you doing? The name's Kirkland, Leona Kirkland." She smiled charmingly. "Like, how's your day going?"

"Ugh!" Emilia sighed, frustrated with the answers she was getting, which was basically none. "Who else knows my location, 'Leona Kirkland'?"

"Alright blondie-"

"Emilia." She corrected, and Leona gave her a look.

"Bless you. Anyway, look, I was, like, in a situation, I was gallivanting through the forest and-" Leona had a look of realization on her face "Wait! Where is my satchel?" She asked, looking around the room.

"I've hidden it. Somewhere you'll never find it." Emilia said, lifting her head in assurance. Leona raised an eyebrow, darting her brown eyes, scanning the room quickly before gesturing her head in the direction of the vase that Emilia had hidden the satchel in.

"It's in that pot, isn't it?" Leona smirked.

_PANG!_

"Huuuhh…" Leona muttered as she opened her eyes again, before realizing the bird on her shoulder had stuck its tongue in her ear. She shuddered in a grossed out way "Like, would you stop that!?"

Emilia chose this time to speak up "_Now_ it's somewhere you'll never find it." She said, satisfied, before she took a deep breath, onto the interrogation "So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. Leona gave an 'I really don't know what you're talking about' look.

"Like, what?"

"To sell it?" Emilia pressed, wanting an answer.

"No! Listen blondie, the only thing I want with your hair, is to, like, get out of it! Literally!"

"Oka- wait. You don't want my hair?" Emilia asked, now wondering why she was here, if not for her hair.

"Like, why on earth would I want your hair? Look, I was being chased, almost being killed, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story." Leona explained.

"You're… telling the truth?" Emilia said, walking a bit closer to Leona's chair and raising an eyebrow, brandishing her frying pan slightly, as Mr. Puffin flew to the edge of the pan, staring straight at Leona and observing her face.

"Like, yeah. Duh." Leona rolled her eyes. Before raising her eyebrow as Emilia held out her hands, allowing the bird to fly into them. From then on she could only make out a few words from their one-sided mumbling session.

"I know, but I need someone to take me… I think he's telling the truth… She doesn't have fangs, and what choice to do I have?..." Okay, Leona was starting to question the sanity of this girl. She began trying to thrash the chair a bit, loosen her restraints, before the girl turned around.

"Okay, Leona Kirkland, I'm prepared to offer you a deal." Leona noticed she put emphasis on her name, which bothered her a bit. Did she not believe it was her real name? That scared her a little…

"Deal?"

"Look this way." Emilia said, gesturing to her painting of the floating lights. Leona attempted to rotate her chair, instead having the chair fall onto its front, her nose barely hitting the floor. Muttering a soft 'ow' "Do you know, what these are?" Emilia questioned.

"You, like, mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" Leona raised an eyebrow, trying to blow a strand of dark hair out of her face.

"Lanterns…" Emilia whispered to herself, violet eyes sparkling in anticipation and excitement "I knew they weren't stars…" She mumbled, before holding her head up, looking over to Leona and clearing her throat.

"Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these 'lanterns'. _You_." She pointed her frying pan to Leona "Will act as my guide, and take me to see them, before returning me home safely." She explained "Then, and only then, will I return your bag… or satchel… or whatever you call it, to you." She smiled slightly as she ended the explanation of her deal. Leona blinked.

"I call it a satchel and… umm… no." Leona said, moving her chair so that it was on its side. She was _not_ doing this. "No can do Blondie, the kingdom and I are not exactly, like, on the best terms right now, and I am trying to lay _low_, so unfortunately, I won't be, like, taking you anywhere." If she could, Leona would be crossing her arms now.

The bird made a motion that looked like a wing-fist hitting his other wing, and Emilia narrowed her eyes, pulling her hair forward so that Leona's chair was lifted forward. "Something brought you here, Leona Kirkland, call it fate… destiny-"

"-A horse." Leona interjected, rolling her eyes. Again, she noticed, emphasis on her name.

"-So I have made the _decision_…" Emilia continued, narrowing her eyes at the interjection "To trust you."

"A terrible decision, like, really." Her voice, and the interjection itself, dripped with sass.

"But trust _me_ when I tell you this." Emilia pulled her hair forward, allowing Leona's chair to fall forward as she caught it before it could go too far down. She was _really_ trying her best to be intimidating. Leona seemed like a weirdly fearless type. She hoped she was doing okay at the intimidation here. "You can tear this tower down _brick by brick_, but without my help, you will never find, your precious satchel."

"Mmm-hmm… so if I, like, take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, then you'll give me back my satchel?" Leona blinked, motioning between the two of them as she spoke.

"I promise." Emilia said seriously "And when I promise something, I never break that promise." Leona gave her a look of disbelief "_Ever_." She clarified. Mr. Puffin nodded in assurance.

Leona sighed. She _really_ didn't want to do this. "Alright, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me, like, no choice. Here comes the pout." Leona said, before pouting her lip, widening her brown eyes to emphasize the look. Emilia's serious look became slightly confused, although she did blush a little.

"You know, this is kinda an off day for me… this doesn't usually happen. Your blush is cute though." Leona said, her face still in a slight pout as Emilia blushed deeper at the compliment "Fine I'll take you to see the lanterns!" She groaned.

"Really!" Emilia said excitedly, letting go of the chair for a moment, which sent the chair falling to the ground gloriously on her face. "Oh… sorry…" She mumbled.

"You broke my pout…" Leona whined.

* * *

"You, like, coming blondie!?" Leona yelled as she climbed down the tower. She looked up to see Emilia standing on the edge of the balcony, looking down to the ground below the tower nervously.

_"Look at the world so close and I'm halfway to it."_ Emilia sung quietly as she contemplated going down.

"Hey, about that singing thing, do you, like, do that a lot? Cause if you do I need you to stop!" Leona yelled up as she neared the end of her climb.

"_Look at it all so close… do I even dare?"_ She continued to sing, ignoring Leona as she glanced back into her tower.

"Obviously you do dare, considering you're kinda, like, keeping my satchel hostage for this trip!"

"_Look at me, there at last, I just have to do it!_" Emilia continued, and Leona rolled her eyes. "_Should I? No. Here I go!"_ She sang, Mr. Puffin nodding at her approvingly as she looped her hair onto the hook above the balcony, letting it fall down to the ground before grabbing it, sliding down. Leona glanced at her as she climbed, and Emilia fell down past him.

Emilia stopped abruptly as she almost reached the ground, looking down, a bit afraid as she let her foot touch the ground hesitantly.

"_Just smell the grass, the dirt, just like I dreamed they'd be~" _She sang quietly as she lay on the ground, breathing the fresh, summer air for the first time _"Just smell that summer breeze, the way it's calling me!"_ She smiled as a gust of wind blew past her, blowing the puff of a dandelion puff. _"For the first time ever, I'm completely free!"_

"Hey um, I kinda, like, asked you to stop the singing thing so…" Leona said offhandedly.

"_I could go running, and racing, and dancing, and chasing  
And leaping, and bounding, hair flying, heart pounding_

_And splashing, and reeling, and finally feeling!  
That's when my life, begins!"_ She sang happily, and Leona rolled her eyes. She was still being ignored as Emilia ran to the cave tunnel that Leona had came into the plain through.

"I can't believe I did this!" Emilia smiled to herself, before gasping, whispering to herself "I can't believe I did this… I can't believe I did this!" She hopped a little to herself. "Mother would be so furious…"

"Well that's okay, what she doesn't know won't kill her… right?" She reasoned with herself a bit later as she sat by a pond, holding a water lily in her hand as Leona stood nearby, running a hand through her hair and smoothing it out.

"Oh my gosh… this would kill her…" She later said to herself again as she hid in the cave tunnel, Leona waiting outside, picking her nails.

It went back in forth like this for about an hour, as Emilia embraced the joy of being outside, before sitting down and embracing the overwhelming guilt she felt. Leona watched, a bit amused and a bit not-so-amused at this whole back-and-forth routine.

Leona walked up to her as she was crying, placing a hand on her shoulder and clearing her throat. Kneeling next to her "You know kiddo, I, like, can't help but notice, you seem a little at war with yourself here."

"What?" Emilia sniffed, turning to look Leona in the eye, slightly upset at being called 'kiddo' by someone who talks like a preteenage girl.

"Now I'm only picking up bits and pieces, over protective mother, forbidden road trip, like… weird, bird, penguin… thing. This is, like, serious stuff." Leona stood up, talking with her hands a little bit "But let me ease your conscience. This is, like, part of growing up. You should've seen me when I was your age." She laughed a bit, and Emilia silently wondered how old Leona was actually.

"A little rebellion, a little adventure, that's good! Like, healthy even!" Leona reassured, brushing Mr. Puffin, who'd flown onto her shoulder, off.

Emilia laughed a little "You think?" She smiled slightly.

Leona nodded, smirking slightly "I_ know_. You're way over thinking this, like, trust me." This is where her plan came into action "Does your mother deserve it? No. Would this break her heart and crush her soul? Definately! But you just, like, have to do it." She watched as Emilia's smile fell.

"Break her heart?" Emilia said, her violet eyes widening.

"In half." Leona replied disinterestedly, picking a grape off a small vine.

"Crush her soul?" She stroked a lock of her hair in realization.

"Like a grape." Leona replied, squeezing and crushing the grape she'd picked off the vine.

"She would be heartbroken… you're right…" Emilia whispered, slight panic seeping into her voice.

"I am, aren't I? Like, oh gosh…" Leona said, wrapping her arm around Emilia's shoulders, guiding the girl to stand up, before putting her hand on her heart melodramatically "Alright, I can't believe I, a believer in, like, teenage angst… freedom… stuff, am saying this, but… I'm letting you out of the deal." She sighed, feigning sadness. Emilia uttered a soft 'what?'

"Yeah, don't thank me. Let's just turn around, and get you home." Leona grabbed the frying pan and the bird, handing them both to Emelia "Here's your pan, here's your bird."

"I get back my satchel…" She continued, wrapping her arm around Emilia's shoulders and guiding her towards the tower "You get back a mother-daughter relationship based on mutual trust and, like, voila! We part ways as unlikely friends." She said, smiling before Emilia pulled away from her.

"No! I am seeing those lanterns!" Emilia insisted, and Leona sighed.

"Oh come on! What is it gonna, like, take for me to get my satchel back?!" Leona groaned.

"I will use this." Emilia narrowed her eyes, holding her frying pan up close to Leona's neck, before shrieking a bit hugging her back tightly as she heard a noise, and the rustling of a bush was seen in the distance.

"Is it ruffians?! Thugs?! Have they come for me?" She asked nervously, and Leona shrugged, partially trying to shrug the girl off. She looked at the rustling bush, as a rabbit hopped out. She rolled her eyes at Emilia's reaction earlier.

"Stay calm, it can probably smell fear." She said sarcastically, as Emilia hopped off her back "I'm assuming it's best we stay away from ruffians and thugs then?" She said, and Emilia nodded, blushing darkly from her reaction. Leona smiled, before realizing something…

"Are you hungry!?"

* * *

**-AN-**

**So they've talked for the first time, and dearies. Yes. Your shipping hunger will be fed FORCEFULLY during this entire story :D**

**Leona: "So, like, thanks for reading, and review if you, like, enjoyed-"**

***Pulls Leona's hair* NO! AN's ARE WHERE I GET TO TALK! YOU DON'T GET TO TELL THEM THINGS!**

**Anyway, review if you enjoyed! :D *Drags Leona away***


	4. In Which Anya Gets Her Pipe

**-AN-**

**So I have a short chapter for you guys! Yayy! (Warning: This is a _really_ short chapter!)**

**Oh, and first, special thanks to- Superwholockingers and fxwritersblock! Thanks for reviewing/following/favoriting!**

* * *

Anya had the feeling she had done something incredibly stupid.

How could she have even thought of leaving Emilia by herself after that little act of rebellion of her's? Of course, it was unlikely Emilia could muster up enough rebellion and courage to actually leave the tower, and besides, how would she even get the means to find her way past the plains, let along to the kingdom.

Still, Anya decided to follow her instinct, and check on Emilia one more time before she left. She took a deep breath as she stood by the ivy curtain covering the tunnel that led into the plain. She was about to step into the tunnel, before she froze, hearing a noise, a rustling of leaves and a neigh, from not to far off. She turned, looking around the area with panic, before she saw a horse.

A white palace horse, plain as day. It had the collar that all the palace horses had, and it had the saddle, but… no rider…

"Oh… a palace horse…" Anya scoffed a little and breathed a sigh of relief, before widening her eyes, her breathing shaky. She clenched her fists "Where's your rider…" She said, panicked. She threw her arms in the air frustratedly. Why had she expected an answer?

The horse tilted its head as Anya ran past the ivy, rushing through the tunnel and into the plain, a sinking feeling filling her chest as she ran up to the tower.

"Emilia!~" She called up to the tower window nervously, "Let down your hair!"

No response… no platinum blonde hair falling from the window, no "Coming mother!" calling back at her.

She called up at the tower again, this time, the panic in her voice was abundantly clear as her breathing constricted. Still, nothing in return. The silence almost killed her.

She took a deep breath, running to the back of the tower, and tearing off a wall of long grown ivy. Behind the ivy was a large collection of stones, which led to a staircase that Anya would use when Emilia was young, and her hair wasn't long enough to lift her up.

She pulled at the stones, until the staircase was revealed, and she hurriedly climbed it.

It took her a few minutes before she'd gotten to the top of the tower. When she'd finally gotten to the room, she called out her daughter's name anxiously. As she searched, she felt the growing hopelessness in her chest consume her, before stopping in the middle of her search, holding her hair back with her hands and rubbing her temples.

"_Nyet_… how could she… how could I… why would she…?" She muttered under her breath, lifting her head out of her hands, before seeing something. A glint of light emitted from under a floorboard. She approached the origin of the curious light with caution.

She pulled at the floorboard, and it broke off easily, revealing a brown bag to be underneath it. Anya grabbed the handle of the bag, opening it to reveal its contents, and pulling out a crown. A tiara.

A very… familiar tiara…

Anya recoiled, dropping the gemmed tiara as soon as she held it up. Her eyes widened in fear, and her breathing shook like it had before, constricted due to the fear rising up within her.

She reached for the bag again, looking in it. Once again, she found something, but this time, it was different. It was a 'Wanted' poster, with the name Leona Kirkland on the bottom of it. Anya bit her lip, standing up and rushing to a large drawer. She opened the top drawer, pulling out a pipe.

She wouldn't lose her flower. She wouldn't lose her youth, or her daughter. And when she found her, when she found her sweet, safe flower Emilia, she'd make sure there would be no threats to them. _Ever_.

* * *

**-AN-**

**Okay, so extremely short chapter here, and you may be wondering "Hey, what's the do with the short chapter?"**

**Well, the do is that I'm not done with chapter four yet and I wanted to show you guys that Anya still exists, and is kinda the main villain here. So yeah, the next update shall be soon, I promise! I wouldn't do you like that babe, I've got you taken care of! :P**

**Anyway~ Review if you enjoyed, because it only feeds Little Miss's ego and allows her to update quicker~**

***Runs off to hiding place***


	5. It's Just Been a Terrible Day!

**-AN-**

**I'm back BIZATCHES**

**...**

**I'm so, so sorry. I'll get out now.**

**BUT NOW WITHOUT THANK YOU'S!**

**Thanks to Cardfighter By Maple, AllMyHetaliaDeadCatsZ, Kasi-nee-chan, and Silver Mia (If I thanked anyone for the second time... I'm tired okay? :P) Thank ya'll for following/reviewing/favoriting!**

* * *

"So how old are you?" Emilia asked as she walked with Leona. The girl was walking them to a restaurant, apparently, Leona having insisted after Emilia told her she was slightly hungry. The brunette turned her head to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you, like, wanna know?" She asked, turning her head forward again. She seemed reserved when it came to questions about herself, and Emilia wondered why…

She shrugged "Smalltalk, trying to know a bit more about the person guiding me to see my dream." She said, although really, she had a couple questions for Leona, including why she talked 'like, like, this all the time'.

"Well you're fine with the information you have, you, like, know my name and that I'm not some creeper going after underage girls, and that that's not why I'm leading you around like this." Leona shrugged, before turning her gaze back to Emilia, raising an eyebrow "Wait, are you underage? How old are you exactly? You look, like, really young."

"Seventeen, turning eighteen tomorrow." Emilia blushed and scoffed slightly at the question, did she really look that young!?

"Mmm… happy early birthday then."

Emilia nodded a slight thanks, before realizing something "Hey! Why do you get to know my age but you can't tell me yours!?" She asked once she realized, blushing darkly at the injustice done here! (Well _she_ called it injustice.)

Leona shrugged, looking off in some direction before turning to her and smiling, taking her hand. Emilia didn't know why, but she was blushing dark red at the feeling of her hand in Leona's.

Both their hands were relatively small, although Leona's fingers were a bit more slender, her hand a bit more calloused from years of working with them, whilst Emilia's were small and delicate, with soft skin easily recognizable to the touch. Leona's hand was warm, easily heating up Emilia's slightly cold hand.

Leona led her up the dirt road they were walking on, picking up the pace a bit to where she was running, and Emilia was stumbling behind her.

She stopped when they could see a small, slightly rundown building to the side of the road, with a sign by it that said "The Snuggly Chick"

"A restaurant of, like, the finest caliber!" Leona grinned, gesturing to the building. Emilia was a bit skeptical, but she was growing increasingly hungry.

"Well... I do like chicks... Like, the baby chickens, not..." She trailed off, damn her word vomit!

"Like, yay!" Leona grinned, practically pulling Emilia towards the restaurant. She didn't comment on the word vomit, although she couldn't really pinpoint the reason why she felt… disappointment(?) at the prospect of Emilia not liking chicks, in the other way...

Welp! No more time to think about that! Moving on!

"Oliver! Your finest table please!" Leona called, smirking as she pushed open the door, her arm around Emelia's waist.

The restaurant (if you could call it that) was cozy, with a fireplace in the back of the building and a ton of seats, although there was one thing about it that Emelia didn't really like. At all.

It was packed. With thugs, and ruffins.

At first, Emilia just stayed close to Leona, her back to her as Leona guided her inside, her hands on her shoulders.

"Mm, you smell that blondie? Take a deep breath through the nose!" Leona said, guiding Emilia forward through the room "Smells like man smell, mixed with bad man smell, all around it just, like, smells like the color brown." She smirked, if this didn't scare the blonde, then she didn't know what would.

Emilia shrieked a little, running up to the front of the fireplace when someone held onto her hair.

"That's a lot of hair..." The auburn-haired man, who Leona knew as Allen, said.

"She's growing it out." Leona said, before pulling an amazed face "Allen, is that blood in your hair?! Blondie, come look at, like, all the blood in my friend Allen's hair! That is, like, a whole lot of blood good sir!"

Emilia held her frying pan out in front of her, blushing darkly at her fear in this whole situation.

"You okay blondie? I could totally, like, take you home if you wanted me too." Leona said, walking up to Emilia and feigning concern "This is, like, a five star place you know, and if you can't handle it, then the outside world is probably not for you."

Emilia was about to say something, and she opened her mouth, before a sickly sweet voice spoke from nearby.

"Oh my word! Is that _Leona Kirkland _I'm seeing?!" A strawberry blonde man spoke, peeking his head outside the kitchen, a wicked smirk on his face.

Leona froze. "Shit..."

Emilia looked between the two, brandishing her frying pan once again, as she saw Leona bite her lip, before pulling off a smile.

"Like, yeah!" She said, chuckling nervously as she felt all the eyes in the restaurant turn to her. She watched as Oliver walked over to her, twirling a knife in his hand. Another thing she hated about being a thief, literally _every_ other person in your profession is terrifying as _hell_.

"Why poppet~ I haven't seen you in forever!" He grinned "And it's nice to know you still talk the same!" He smiled as he stood in front of her now. Leona looked down at him, he was a little shorter than she was, which provided her a bit of comfort.

"Well yeah, it's, like, just kinda the way I talk…" She responded a bit grudgingly, and it was as soon as she said that when Oliver held the knife he'd been twirling up to her neck, to where the sharp, silver blade was poking at the skin. He smirked when he saw a bead of blood fall from where he held the knife to. Leona squealed.

"And speaking of _forever_, you still haven't paid me back that money you owed me… hm… how much was that, poppet…?" He asked sweetly, and Leona gulped "I'd say the fee you owe me could _hypothetically _be paid with the lost princess's crown, don't you?"

Leona backed away, obviously terrified, before bumping into something from the back. She looked up to see the face of Francis Bonnefoy, as he snaked his arms around her waist. Ugh, not only was she unlucky enough to land by his chest, but now he was holding her _by the waist_… oh, and they were all probably going to kill her.

"Oh mon ami~ You look so afraid…" Francis chuckled, winking at her "Well you know, you could always pay your debts to me in-"

"Shut up Francis." Leona cut him off, and he begrudgingly held her tighter. She felt another person move in to speak to her. Moments later, she was looking in the face of Antonio Carriedo, who smiled and kneeled a bit to be eye to eye with her. She felt a blade poke at her stomach, as it came to draw a bit of blood. Antonio smirked.

"Hola mi amiga!" The spaniard grinned, ruffling Leona's hair with one hand, while the other kept its grip on the blade "How have you been?"

"L-like, a-alright…" She stuttered, and silently swore at herself to not do that, it was clearly showing weakness.

"Hmmm…" He said, and she felt the blade shift away from her "Tell me, when are we getting your debts paid back? I'd prefer to know now so that I don't have to dirty my sword with your filthy thieving blood." He grinned, and Leona looked into his green eyes, shocked at his casualty with explaining _murder_.

"Like, umm… um…" Okay, plan B.

Leona started choking up, tears welling up in her eyes falling to her cheeks, she sniffled as she spoke "W-well I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, and I don't have the money now and I'm really sorry and please don't kill me!" She cried, widening her brown eyes "It's just that I had the crown but now I don't because it's a really complicated situation and it's just been a terrible day!" She sniffed, and she saw Antonio blink.

"Mi amiga, are you really crying." Antonio asked, wiping off some of the tears with the back of his hand.

"S-sure…" She nodded shakily, if they wanted to believe it.

"Hmm…" Oliver walked up again, standing to the side of Leona, just a few centimeters away. He took a deep breath.

"_Oui, _stop crying. It's not going to help your case…" Francis interrupted sternly, and Leona froze up for a moment, before relaxing.

Leona sighed "Really, it's not going to help me?" She said, and Francis shook his head "Like, okay then." She groaned, her voice devoid of any sign that she'd been crying earlier. Fake crying was a gift of hers, she knew. "Look, if you're gonna, like, kill me, please do it quickly. I'd prefer that to, like, torture or anything."

"Oh we're not going to kill you chica! We're turning you in for your reward money!" Antonio grinned, and Leona shivered. "You're worth a lot of money now you know~!"

"Oh…" Leona said, looking down. She felt a lot more afraid now.

_CRASH_

Suddenly, attention was directed to Emilia, who'd thrown a glass at the wall. "Oh… so that's, like, where blondie went." Leona whispered, looking over to her… friend…?

Emilia had closed her eyes as she'd thrown it, but once she'd opened them, and saw the people staring at her, she blushed "Umm…" She started off, not a great start on trying to save her guide so she can see her dream, was it? Well, anyway, she continued. "L-let her go! Please…" She said, and she heard a collective chuckle emit from the crowd.

"And why should we?" Said Oliver, as he walked up to Emilia, once again, twirling his knife "And why do _you_ care, you seem like a respectable young woman. Did Leona get a girlfriend and not tell us?~" He giggled, and upon hearing that, both our lovely heroines blushed darkly.

"Like, no!" Leona scoffed "Unfortunately not everyone who, like, travels together is dating." She rolled her eyes, as Emilia cleared her throat.

"Anyway…" She huffed slightly, rolling her eyes at even the suggestion that she and that… that weirdo would be… like that. "I'm going to ask you all to um… not kill her, I kinda need her to be alive so…" Emilia said as her blush faded slightly. Leona facepalmed, before speaking up.

"You're not helping Blondie!" She managed to get out before Francis reached a hand to clasp over her mouth. To which Leona began making multiple noises that were impossible to make sense of "Mmm! Mm, mmm!"

As the thugs began to constrain Leona by her shoulders, and Leona struggled and thrashed to get out, Emilia panicked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Stop!" She shouted once again, jumping onto the bar and standing on it, having gained the attention of the thugs once again "Stop it! I need her to be alive, or I'll never get to see my dream!" She shouted, her face flushing in slight embarrassment "Haven't any of you ever had a dream!"

Suddenly, it all went silent in the pub, as Oliver was the one who broke from the rest of the group. He held his knife in front of him as he walked over to Emilia, and Leona took a deep, non-exhaled breath in fear.

Emilia was shaking as she held her frying pan out in front of her, pretty much terrified. She shuddered as Oliver walked up to her, placing a hand on the bar she was standing on, before… smiling.

"You know… I had a dream, once." He said, a glint in his blue eyes, which seemed to be swirled with pink. Suddenly, Leona felt herself being put down, or more appropriately, she was _dropped_. Idiots…

But Francis unclasped his hand from over her mouth, and she could hear Oliver from across the room.

"I wanted to be a baker, like… like a real baker. Known kingdom wide." Said Oliver wistfully "And I would've been, if not for the 'charges' pressed on me for 'thievery'. Now I have to work here, with these thugs, in that _awful_ kitchen." Sighed the strawberry blonde "Still, can't you just see it though, me, known across the kingdom for my treats. It'd be… amazing…" He sighed dreamily.

"Seriously? Are we being serious about this?" Leona glanced between Oliver and Emilia, completely dumbfounded. Had Emilia made her friends soft or something?!

"If you want to live, I'd suggest being quiet while I talk to the lady." Said Oliver, who glared at Leona immediately. Leona rolled her eyes. "And by lady I mean the actual ladylike lady."

"-Hey!" Protested Leona, who pouted, but was quiet as many of the thugs began to explain to Emilia (Who was a little uncomfortable, but she got through it) their many dreams and desires. Eventually though, one of them, Flavio (Who had a dream to be an interior designer, tch) tapped her shoulder.

"What about you?" He'd asked, and at Leona's confused look, he sighed exaperatedly "What's your dream girlie?" He asked, and immediately, all eyes turned to her. Leona shook her head.

"Sorry boys, I'm not into, like, feeling talk." She'd said, and immediately received a sideways glance from Antonio and Francis. A glance that said 'talk bitch'

…

Well that's how she interpreted it.

"Ugh…" She said, contemplating the answer she was to give. She needed an answer that would show that she had such deep and intricate thoughts and expressed her view on philosophy.

"Money."

At the confused look she received from everyone in the restaurant (including Emilia), she sighed. "I want to be rich. Like, come on, who doesn't? I'd totally love to have money, like, a _lot_ of money, and maybe an island. An island where I could be alone with my money…" She explained, and a collective groan took over the crowd.

"Your dream fucking sucks!" Called someone from the crowd of thugs.

"Well _excuse_ me." Scoffed Leona, who noticed that now, attention was diverted to Emilia.

"Excuse me, but what's your dream, mon cher?" Asked Francis, taking Emilia's small hand, about to place a kiss on it. Immediately, Emilia pulled it back. Leona couldn't help but smirk a little.

"My dream?" Asked Emilia, who was sitting on the bar. She seemed to think for a minute "I wanna see the lanterns…" She seemed to blush darker as she said that, and the crowd silently aww'd a little bit, holding their pints up in honor of her.

"I found the guards!" Called Luciano, who just walked into the pub. Apparently, he wasn't around during their little 'dream talk'. Immediately the residents went silent, and Leona grabbed Emilia's hand, pulling her away quickly. The rest of the pub glanced at the two of them worriedly.

"Where in the bloody hell is Kirkland?!" Said the guard who had just stepped in. He was a blonde haired guard, with bright green eyes. "Where is she?!" When he received no answer, he turned to the other three guards who were with him. "Find her. Tear the place upside down if you bloody have to."

With a quick glance to the doorway, Leona saw that behind the guards, the Beilschmidt brothers stood behind them, handcuffed. She began to heave as she breathed, moving back to the counter she was hiding behind. She was met by the soft slamming of a hand on the countertop, followed by a glance from Francis, who pulled a small switch.

Then, a door, something resembling a secret entrance was opened, and Francis glanced at the two.

"Go, live your dream little one~" He said, glancing down at the entrance.

"I totally will." Said Leona, and Francis glared at her.

"Your dream is shite, I was talking to the lady." He said, and Leona begrudgingly crawled down the secret entrance ramp.

"Thank you…" Said Emilia quietly, blushing as she followed behind Leona, waving at Francis before she was off.

* * *

"Sir, there's-a no sign of her!" Said a redheaded guard (Whom Leona had the pleasure of meeting earlier in the story) "Ve~ We've looked everywhere!"

The blonde guard, Arthur, clenched his fist. He thought they'd found her… but then, a miracle shone from the doorway.

"Mint…" He said, seeing the white horse entering the door. The horse trotted through the room, before hopping it's front legs on top of the counter, at the confused look Arthur gave him, he shook his head, flipping a switch on the counter.

"A passage! Brilliant!" Said Arthur, leading the way "Come men! Feliciano, stay back to watch the thugs." He said, leaving the redhead to watch the two Beilschmidt brothers with the guard.

Feliciano shivered with fear as he turned to the brothers, who were monstrous in size compared to him. "Ve~..." He said nervously, holding his spear up to the brothers.

Immediately, Gilbert turned his back and snatched the spear away with handcuffed hands, before cutting his brother out immediately. Ludwig looked at the guard, who almost fainted with terror, sympathetically as he undid Gilberts handcuffs. After they were done, they walked off, Ludwig muttering a soft, 'sorry'.

Meanwhile Anya looked in the window of the pub, scowling. Her luck must have been up though, as immediately stumbled out a drunk American-looking man, with auburn hair and tanned skin. He turned to Anya, readjusting his pair of sunglasses.

"Well get me a heroic glass, because I just found me a tall glass of water!" He said, slurring a little, Anya giggled.

"Oh stop it, you flatter me~" Anya said, glancing at the man, he was a little taller than her, but whatever. Immediately, she pulled her pipe out of seemingly nowhere, aiming it at his stomach. If she pushed it with her strength, it would go right through him, or at least deep enough to kill him. "Now tell me where this passage leads."

Allen gulped.

* * *

**I'm back, with another unnecessarily long chapter! Yay!**

**Be sure to review, as it fuels LM's ego and makes her update faster (And not disappear... :P)**

**Leona's fake crying though...**


	6. Don't be Afraid of the Dark

Leona was trying really hard not to abandon Emilia. It turned out harder than she thought it would be.

Emilia was easily frightened, yet too stubborn to admit she was frightened. So being in a dark tunnel with her was hell.

Not because Emilia was scared. On the contrary. Leona was afraid of the dark, and it took all of Emilia's strength to work on helping her and not freaking out herself.

"No... they didn't tell us it was dark..." Leona whispered when Francis closed the entrance. Emilia looked at her, she could barely make out her face in the dark.

"Is there a problem?" She raised an eyebrow. Leona shook her head shakily.

"N-no... no problem..." Leona shook her head. The dark shadowed her face in a way that revealed her wide eyes. Immediately, the Asian girl turned away and started crawling through the tunnel. Emilia noticed that she was very cautious with her moving, as if anything could jump at her at any time.

"Leona, are you okay?" Emilia asked, and Leona nodded, bumping her head against the ceiling and squealing out of surprise-slash-fear. "You don't sound okay…"

"I'm, like, fine…" Leona assured her, crawling forward. Mr. Puffin saw fit to fly onto Leona's shoulder, causing her to convulse with fear. "WHAT THE FUCK!"

Out of surprise, Emilia held her head up, bumping it on the ceiling. "Ow…" She groaned, before glaring at Leona "What exactly is wrong with you?!" She hissed.

Leona curled up into a ball, her breath heaving. "I can't do this. I really, really can't do this."

At this point, Emilia connected the dots. "Wait… are you afraid of the dark?"

There was a long moment of silence, and Emilia could only assume that Leona was blushing out of heated embarrassment.

"No!" Leona sniffed "That's stupid…" She said that in what sounded like a whimper. Emilia held back a giggle, before bursting into laughter, and she could feel Leona glare at her. "What's so funny?!" She hissed.

"Sorry…" Emilia laughed, shaking her head "It's just that… _you_, this fearless thief person who isn't afraid of thugs and ruffians and laughs at me when I get scared… you're afraid of the dark…" She explained, feeling a bit like an asshole, but hey.

"Well what's not to be afraid of…" Leona whined, "You can't see anything, and when anything touches you it's freaky. Jeez, why am I, like, the weird one for being afraid of something that everyone should be afraid of?"

Emilia thought back on the many times she sat down in the dark tower at night. She supposed she never really had a chance to be afraid of the dark. "Look, I'm here with you. You've got nothing to worry about." She said, leaning forward to place a hand on Leona's shoulder. "I'm right here, and nothing is coming after us… alright?" She never imagined having to be the mature one on this whole adventure.

Leona stayed still for a minute, before nodding "Okay..." She whispered. "I'm trusting you." She said quietly, before crawling forward. Emilia stayed in place for a bit.

Leona trusted her? Emilia wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but did that mean that she and Leona could be considered… friends? Possibly, maybe, no?

She sighed, before following behind her guide. She watched as Leona expertly went down the hatch leading to the exit. She looked down, seeing Leona with her arms outstretched.

"Get down, I'll catch you!" She said, glancing around quickly. Emilia sighed, before jumping down, and not being catched by Leona, instead landing on her feet.

"I didn't need any help." She rolled her eyes. Leona shrugged.

"Well, not my fault that I attempted to help." She scoffed, "If I were down at my ahm… at home, I would have been slammed for being ungrateful."

Emilia gave Leona a look. "Good thing we're not at your home." She said skeptically, raising an eyebrow when Leona turned her head away, not looking at Emilia. There was a long moment of awkward silence, and Leona took a deep breath in, opening her mouth.

"Hey uh… just forget tha-"

"There they are!" A loud, posh voice broke through the silence. The two girls turned their heads to see the men who had arrived where they were. They were in what _looked_ like a canyon, with a large amount of structure and wood beams on the side slopes.

"Who are they?!" Emilia facepalmed.

"They don't like me."

On the underside of the slope that they were on, two men, Ludwig and Gilbert, broke out from what looked like a mine. Leona found herself cursing under her breath.

"Who's that?!"

"They don't like me either!"

Finally, to put the icing on top of the cake, a horse appeared from behind the guards.

"And who's that?!"

"You ask really redundant questions!" Leona groaned, before Emilia gave her a look. She held back a small sigh. "Let's just assume that everyone here doesn't like me!"

Leona found herself pushed back as she was handed a frying pan from Emilia.

"Hold this!" Emilia said urgently, before taking an armful of her hair and lassoing it around one of the wooden beams. Leona watched in awe as the blonde girl swung to the other side, finding herself on another perch.

"You know, Leona, we've waited quite a while for this." A smug voice emerged from behind her. Leona's eyes widened in surprise.

Well ain't that a bitch.

* * *

**-AN-**

**I have not risen from the dead... I've risen from the summer.**

**Anyway, have some cute short chapters as an apology for my absence... I'm really sowwy. I didn't abandon this story I swear.**


	7. One Big AN

-One Big AN-

Hi guys! I just want to let you know some things about Tangled, and say that this story is _not_ canceled, just not my top priority at the moment.

I will be rewriting and proofreading through each chapter, as I recently saw that I used the term 'catched' in the last chapter. To do that and still call myself a semi-intelligent person is insulting, and evidence can be found in the last chapter.

However, considering that I am working on quite a few unfinished multi-chapter fanfictions at the moment, and balancing school at the same time will cause a huge delay if I do start rewriting and fixing these chapters now.

And don't get me wrong, I _love_ Leona and Emilia, and I want to extend their chapters and keep updating this story, I just need a bit more time to do that, and so I would like to ask a favor from you, the reviewers.

If you have the time (because I would not like to steal any of your time, I assure you) and would like to help with the continuation of Tangled, than_please_ PM me about this and we can talk something out. I personally didn't want to ask for a beta reader in this fashion, but I do want someone who likes Tangled, as I know rewrites aren't exactly everyone's cup of tea, and my writing style is a little... eh.

But otherwise, I do want to thank everyone for enjoying my story, even with its flaws. Every time I see a new review or a new favorite or follow, it pretty much makes my day :)

And yes, I have bragged about my seventeen reviews to plenty of people and have gotten weird looks, but seriously, you guys are awesome :)


End file.
